Tough decisions ahead on Seahawks’ final roster

The Seattle Seahawks reduced their roster to 76 players by waiving four young prospects on Sunday, but must cut one more by Tuesday and then get the number down to the final 53 by Saturday.

Former UCLA defensive tackle Kevin Brown, who spent part of last season on Seattle’s practice squad, was among those released Sunday.

Also waived were fullback Dan Curran, tight end John Tereshinski and linebacker Shane Simmons.

Curran was in his second training camp with the Seahawks and Tereshinkski went through camp last year with the Chargers, but neither has played in a regular-season game.

Simmons is a former Western Washington Viking out of Kentlake High School who spent last preseason with the Raiders. He was added to the Seahawks roster early in camp this year.

This will be a busy week for the Hawks as they continue preparation for the Sept. 13 season opener at Qwest Field against St. Louis. The team holds its final preseason game Thursday night at home against Oakland, then must make the final cuts by Saturday.

Among the toughest choices will be wide receiver, where a deep group of youngsters is competing for the fifth and possibly sixth roster spots, and the final defensive line decision between rookies Nick Reed, Michael Bennett and veteran Baraka Atkins.

Coach Jim Mora must also choose between veteran kicker Olindo Mare and young Brandon Coutu as well as whittle down the third tight end position between veteran Joe Newton and rookie draft pick Cameron Morrah.

The Seahawks also face some interesting roster maneuvering with their offensive line, given that Walter Jones and Chris Spencer are both injured and won’t be available by the start of the regular season.

The team usually keeps nine linemen on the final roster and then only goes with seven active on Sundays when a 47-man active roster must be submitted, so it’s possible to just keep Jones and Spencer as the two inactives. But that would severely limit the depth of the position, so an extra might need to be kept.

The starting five of Sean Locklear, Rob Sims, Steve Vallos, Max Unger and Ray Willis is set, which leaves Mansfield Wrotto and Kyle Williams the likely backups. But Na’Shan Goddard is also in the mix and the team just picked up a possible center-guard backup in Brian De La Puente.

It’s also possible for GM Tim Ruskell to scour the waiver wire and pick up additional depth on the line after other teams make their cuts this week.

The club must also determine what to do with cornerback Marcus Trufant, who is on the Physically Unable to Perform list and can be kept there without counting against a final roster spot on the final cut to 53.

But if Trufant is put on the regular-season PUP, that will mean he must sit out at least the first six games. If the Seahawks think he’ll be ready before then, they’ll need to use another roster spot for Trufant on the final cutdown, which means less versatility elsewhere.